Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. New York City FC | 2017 MLS Match Preview

Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. New York City FC
2017 MLS Regular Season
BC Place – Vancouver, B.C.
Wednesday, July 5 – 10 p.m. ET
WATCH: TSN1/3/4 in Canada; MLS LIVE in US

A week after a promising attempt at ascension to Western Conference contention was not only halted, but outright rejected by an Eastern Conference power, Vancouver Whitecaps FC again face one of the East's premier clubs as New York City FC visit BC Place. Vancouver haven't beaten NYCFC in two attempts thus far, falling 2-1 at home and 3-2 on the road.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

The 'Caps are were in the midst of a sneaky-good run, but good golly did that come crashing down around them. About the only encouraging development was the MLS regular-season debut of Yordy Reyna, who missed the opening four months of the season with a foot injury. He made it in for nearly a half-hour's play, managing to put a shot on goal in his first official league action.

Though Vancouver have made a mass clearance off the once-packed injury list, they'll be without defensive midfielder Matias Laba, who picked up a late red card against Chicago. Look for Andrew Jacobson to step up into the midfield – a role New York City is familiar with him filling (SEE: 2015) – with Carl Robinson dipping into the backline reserves to plug the gap.

On the plus side, they turned in a dominant midfield performance, with Yangel Herrera and Alexander Ring controlling the action like foot-string puppeteers while Jack Harrison scored goals and created them as a nation dreams. It's saying something that we've gotten this far and I've yet to mention David Villa, who – of course – is following up an MLS MVP campaign with … an MLS MVP(-worthy) campaign. That's what 11 goals and 6 assists will do for you.